WASHINGTON — Last summer, as millions watched the Democratic National Convention, Hadley Duvall of Owensboro shared her story of surviving rape by her stepfather and becoming pregnant at 12.
Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban, which went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in 2022, has no exceptions for rape or incest.
Duvall, now 22, who traveled the country to support former Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, was recently named the Kentucky honoree for USA Today’s 2025 Women of the Year.
USA Today said Duvall “became the face of the national reproductive rights movement.”
“To know that I have come full circle and really taken back my power and owned my story the best that I can, and I can show other survivors that they have the opportunity and the power to do that as well, it means a lot,” Duvall told Spectrum News Friday.
Duvall said there have been ups and downs since Harris’ election loss to Donald Trump, but she continues to share her story.
“After the election, I found myself really taking a big break from politics, and I was like, I feel like I kind of need to be in that space,” she said. “We might not have the power in office, but we have the power out here in the streets and people are coming together.”
In October, President Donald Trump posted online that he would not support a federal abortion ban, and supports exceptions for rape and incest.
Kentucky House Republicans have filed a bill to add exceptions to the commonwealth’s abortion ban.
It has not moved forward since being assigned to a committee earlier this month.
Similar legislation from Democrats has failed to move as well.